The Ahmadinejad/Rafsanjani split from that vote roughly parallels that between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi this time around, but I that seems highly unlikely. Mousavi is a much stronger candidate that Rafsanjani, reformists actually came out to vote this year, and a certain percentage of the urban poor who voted for Ahmadinejad should have been turned off by soaring unemployment and other economic problems.

What would a fair result look like? I admit I'm not sure, but Ahmadinejad made it easy to call foul on this one, which is what discredits him going forward. This is the problem when an electoral system is illegitimate, and the only ways out of the impasse are for someone else to be declared the winner or for further voting, such as a run-off.

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About Me

I am an Associate Professor in History at Shippensburg University, where I teach courses in Middle Eastern and world history. My two major research areas are the Middle East from the 7th through 10th centuries and the Persian Gulf from ancient times to the present. Nothing on this site represents an official position of Shippensburg University.